Dr Tom E. Stelson

DR TOM STELSON’S TRIBUTE

Giving honor to God, the creator, the redeemer and the sustainer of life, to Pastor Kelly Burge, to the Stelson’s family and everyone gathered here. It is a great honor and privilege for me to stand here today, to honor and pay tribute to a great man, a true American and a refined citizen of the world; our friend Dr. Tom Stelson.
So, today we have assembled in this sacred place to remember and celebrate the rich life and work of a gifted noble human being. The sacredness of this place combined with the nobility of the person whose life has brought us here, makes this a Holy occasion. We, therefore, celebrate and thank God for giving us Tom, and we to appreciate and acknowledge Tom’s acceptance in allowing God to mold and shape him in a remarkable way and thus leaving us with a great legacy of love, service and sacrifice.
There are so many, many things which I would have loved to talk about this great man who I have known for the last 10 years, but for the sake of time I would like to condense my thoughts and observations by focusing on two major essential qualities which distinguished Tom as an exemplary and remarkable human being.
Tom was a caring and loving person. First, he cared and loved his dear wife and his children. He provided and protected them as witnessed by who they are today. According to Connie, his wife, she said, “Tom sheltered me all of my life.” On the other hand Dr Kim Stelson; Tom’s eldest son, who is currently working on a major energy research project, gives a lot of credit to his father for being the main influence in the formulation of the project. “He always encouraged me to go an extra mile in everything I did,” Said Kim. Caren, his daughter in-law, who was with him the whole duration he was in the hospital said, “dad” as she loved calling her father in-law” was one of the finest and sacrificing person I have seen in my life”. Tommy Stelson remembers is dear dad with tears rolling down his cheeks and says “what I will miss the most is dad’s great advice and the way we used to talk twice a week and the way he used say to me, what do you think of this or that. His ideas and perspectives were right most of the time.” Rebecca Stelson, on the other hand remembers her precious dad with these words “dad was the most loving, creative and innovative person I ever met and he could always tell me this; the most important thing is that with patience there is always time to solve any problem on the face of the earth, and never rash to do things. .Art Stelson could not wait to say this, “my father was endowed with great faith, which made him venture into the chanted waters. He traveled to those lands which others had no guts to travel. He traveled to Russia during the Soviet era. He had a special trust with other people.”
Tom spoke with a lot of affection toward his children. He was a wonderful and loving husband, father and grandfather. He was very proud of his grand children, which he demonstrated in various ways like most loving grand parents do. He attended their graduations and encouraged them in their studies.
Tom’s caring, however, transcended the boundaries of family and friends. He cared about the well being the whole world as witnessed by his global activities and contributions. From Georgia Tech, located here in the heart of Atlanta, to undulating green hills of Mariene in the Republic Kenya, to Honk Kong in China, to Kabul in Afghanistan, to Harare in Zimbabwe, to Warsaw in Poland, to the rolling hills and plains of Vietnam, to prairies and the great water dams in Canada and beautiful tropical grasslands of Australia, his contributions are gigantic, remarkable and the spirit lives on. He cared for the hurting, the hopeless and helpless people of the world. Through his caring and loving spirit, people found their humanity and went ahead to serve others.
There is yet another profound and distinguished spiritual characteristic that made Tom unique and a particular individual. He was a God fearing and a compassionate human being. The Bible tells us that “Jesus was moved with compassion, when he saw people without a shepherd.” Tom was a liberator by virtue of his own actions and his spirit. As a member of DBS class, he was a gifted leader and teacher. Like Prophet Isaiah say, “he was the repairer of the breaches and the restorer of paths.” Tom was always looking for solutions to tackle and alleviate the many woes which afflict mankind. Yes, Tom was a great man because great men always light up their time.
Now my dear friends, here comes our challenge from the powerful life of Dr. Tom Stelson. He has left us with one of the greatest legacy. He has passed to us the torch and it is our duty and responsibility to pass it on and keep lighting the way for mankind and the entire world.
His life has taught us how to live humanly in a world torn apart by inhumanness. His life of service calls us to move beyond our parochial confines and rise to the occasion to make this world a better place for all to live in. His life of caring for all people everywhere has served as a guide to us to see how beautiful and lovely it is to serve and appreciate each other. His life has been a radiant star of hope that can lead us out of the darkness of nocturnal despair. His life was the spiritual magnet to draw us to our communities, the world we live in and learn to love one another. The life of our great friend, Dr. Tom Stelson was a life touched by the hand of God and we thank him for doing us this pride. Farewell to you our dear friend. May He who fashioned thee that way rest your beautiful spirit in everlasting eternal peace?

From your dear family and friends who will be eternally grateful to the encouragement, love, care, faith and courage you always depicted even at the midst of great challenges.

Prepared by Wilson Mugambi Arimi